I have been putting Tallboy magazine out for years. It went digital for a while (we called them “blogs”), but that never felt right. This special four-issue, 164-page series was part of a crowdfunding campaign for my 2017 release, “Minor Fits.” In it, you’ll find short fiction (some of which I’ve told on stage); backstories about my most well-known songs; and confessions from the music industry—so it’s funny and full of idiots. Now that “Minor Fits” is out in the world, I’m offering the entire series on Bandcamp. I’ve put the same craft and quality into this that I’ve put into my music, and I hope you’ll check it out. Includes unlimited streaming of You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC cover) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. BUY TALLBOY MAGAZINE AT...

Backstory: As part of the Minor Fits crowdfunding campaign, I offered a four-issue special edition of Tallboy magazine, and now the offer is available to you, too. Wait…what is it? It’s hand-crafted, artisanal literature in the old-school punk ‘zine tradition. (That’s fancy-talk for “stories I’ve told on stage, scans of lyrics directly from my notebooks, the history behind the songs, and more.”) If you want in, you will receive FOUR issues by end of 2018 (two are already out, but we’ll catch you up), plus a free download of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” from the Minor Fits sessions. That URL again: https://mikeerrico.bandcamp.com/merch/subscription-to-tallboy-magazine-quarterly AND OF COURSE, THE MUSIC KEEPS COMING (FYI: The largest selection of my work on ANY platform is on Bandcamp. This includes deluxe editions, unreleased live tracks, podcasts, singles, and all of that. That’s the motherlode.)and of course, you can:STREAM ON SPOTIFY (check out playlists, too) STREAM ON APPLE MUSIC (if you can figure it out, that...

I’ve been working on new material, and for me, that means taking a look at where I’ve been. I’m finishing the writing phase, and drawing lines through my songs, dating back to the beginning of my career. I thought I’d share what I’ve been noticing, in playlist form. I’ve been drawn to what some people call “story songs.” I found my writing voice listening to punk-folk, rock, country and early hip-hop artists, and particularly loved when the songs told, well, a “story,” as opposed to capturing a mood, or rallying around a single phrase, and so on. Some that immediately come to mind: – Space Oddity, David Bowie – oh, man. When communication cuts off from Ground Control? I’ll never forget when I first heard that. I actually wrote about it here. And here. – Cover Me Up, Jason Isbell – This guy gives me faith. I put him with Sturgill Simpson and Father John Misty, who sang about “subprime loans” and made me feel that there were no limits. – Main Street, Hollywood Nights, Night Moves, Bob Seger – I’m there every time he awakes to the sound of thunder…”How far off, I sat and wondered…” Me, too, Bob! Me, too! – The Distance, by Cake – I love the insane determination of that driver! “Someone for whom…he…still…BURNS.” Me, too, Cake! Me, too! – I Left My Wallet in El Segundo – Tribe Called Quest. In a similar vein as Cake, and maybe a goof, but it isn’t to me. It’s a cockeyed story in which the journey itself far outstrips the destination. Which is kind of the...

New: A seasonal piece of anatomical theater. I put it on Medium, but it’s here in its entirety, too. I will be handing it out to the urchins who knock on my door thinking I might give them my Crunch bars. They never learn. Happy Halloween. Autodidactic Asphyxiation A terminal diagnosis The Anatomical Theater of the Archiginnasio at the University of Bologna. The room is an elegant Renaissance box: varnished spruce floors, walls, and ceiling, with rows of straight-backed benches, now empty of students and spectators. Statues of men stripped of skin stand sinewed and elemental on either side of a central, empty throne. Overhead, wooden angels gift thighbones to allegories of truth and beauty. A peep door near the rafters is provided for the clergy to inspect the autopsies for religious impropriety. The door is shut. In the center of the theater, a white-coated doctor and doctor’s assistant stand over a marble slab, upon which lays a cadaver so dissembled it’s barely recognizable as human. It looks more like an oozing pile of body parts. The doctor’s assistant, also in a white coat, holds a clipboard with a facing page that reads: Initial diagnosis: Autodidactic asphyxiation. DOCTOR: There’s no piecing the examined life together. ASSISTANT (unnerved): Doctor? DOCTOR: Perhaps the unexamined life is the more ‘lived’ because whoever lived it never lathered him or herself up enough to arrive at the futility of post-examination findings. ASSISTANT: What are the findings, doctor? You have dismembered the patient, and so what are your conclusions? DOCTOR: Life is a mess. ASSISTANT (flips nervously through the papers clamped to the clipboard): I’m sorry, doctor? DOCTOR: Life...

Recently, I wrote a piece on Cuepoint about how :30 second songs might be just around the corner because streaming services pay artists after :30 seconds. Well. About a week passed. There’s a new site called Eternify that claims it gets artists paid by streaming only the :30 needed in order to count as a “stream.” The future, kids. I don’t get it either. So let’s have some fun. The link I’m not-so-strangely interested in: http://eternify.it/#Mike-Errico Technically, all you do is click on a piece of mine and it will stream :30 clips. I’ve never done something so easy in the entire Internet. Here’s the deal: You work with me, I’ll make stuff for you. If you are leaving work/stepping away from your computer for the evening, or if you don’t listen to music while you work, you can click on it, then simply hit mute and go about your day/evening. If that’s too intrusive, you can click on it before you step away from your computer for the day, and just let it run. You can, it appears, even open multiple tabs and let them run simultaneously. (I tried it. Seems like it works.) Would you rather get another artist paid, too? Not a problem — just open a tab and stream that artist, too. It also gives a running total, so you can keep track of your contribution by taking a screen grab. Like so: YOUR EXCELLENT QUESTIONS PROBABLY ARE: “Mike: What will you do with the money, if it arrives?” I’ll make more of the stuff you (hopefully) already like. Same as if you subscribed to a Kickstarter or Patreon campaign, except...

[Every other week, I’m releasing a new story that comes with music, playlists, podcasts, and photos. The whole archive is being collected right here. Check it out, and if you liked it, I’d appreciate it if you’d hit the RECOMMEND button at the bottom to let others know about it. (It’s just like a Facebook like.)] Gigging for God: My Time in the Church Folk Group I was an “at-risk” tween rock guitarist, so my parents sent me to a halfway house to play Dylan songs for God. Here’s how it...